Conditions and Info
Use of MountainViews is governed by
conditions.General information about the site is
here.Opinions in material here are not necessarily endorsed by MountainViews.
Hillwalking is a risk sport. Information in comments, walks or shared GPS tracks may not be accurate for example as regards safety or access permission. You are responsible for your safety and your permission to walk see
conditions.Credits and list definitions are listed here
Credits

Presumably the name is transferred from some nearby hollow to the mountain itself. Price has a useful note to this effect, but is unable to determine the hollow in question. There are three valleys in the vicinity: Fraughan Rock Glen to the north-east, the South Prison to the south-east and the North Prison to the north-west. The first two are both forested nowadays. The summit is marked as Percy's Table, named after a local landowner of the 18th century. Cf. Dawson's Table on Galtymore. P.W. Joyce gave the original form as Log na Coilleach, 'hollow of the (grouse) cocks'. However this seems doubtful. It does not show the urú which would be expected. Nor is the name connected with the deity Lug.
Lugnaquilla is the highest mountain in the Dublin/Wicklow area and the 13th highest in Ireland. Lugnaquilla is the highest point in county Wicklow.Trackback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/13/?PHPSESSID=kqn95qsoj2ravsj8gsn6qnk8o5

Lug as it is popularly known is Ireland's highest summit outside Kerry. The large summit cairn and trig pillar sit on a fairly flat dryish top with views better distant than near, often surrounded by people and sadly, litter. There are several ways up and some serious hazards particularly in bad weather so map, navigational gear and skill are essential.

One way is from the NE, starting at Baravore car park at around T066942A. From Baravore there are three main ways: straight up the Fraughan Rock Glen, via Camenabologue along the Stony Road, or via Arts Lough and Cloghernagh.

Another starting point is from around S984929B near Fentons Pub.
Go straight up the track to Camarahill. Do not deviate because the surrounding area is regularly used as an artillery range, well marked on maps, making this route not always allowed.

Another start is from the S at Aughavannagh Bridge T056861C, following the Ow valley to the summit with variations on the western and eastern ridges.

There are also routes via Carrawaystick Mountain and Ballineddan Mountain and some gullies.

The summit can be difficult to find in mist or whiteout conditions. Without good navigation there is a risk of descending accidentally onto any of the three severe slopes, of which two are marked on maps as the North Prison, the South Prison and the unnamed NE facing slope or into the artillery range. Trackback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/13/comment/4773/

Picture from davsheen : South Prison Lugnaquilla

Picture: South Prison Lugnaquilla

New Comment:

October Wicklow Hike

by davsheen 31 Oct 2018

View of South Prison cliffs Lugnaquilla from the col descending from Corrigasleggaun en route to the Leinster high point Trackback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/13/comment/20138/

Your Score: Very useful << >>Average

Picture from TommyV : Arts Lough

Picture: Arts Lough

New Comment:

Leinsters highest

by TommyV 2 Nov 2018

I have climbed Lug from both the Glen of Imaal side on the West and from the Glenmalure side on the East. If you are only planning on climbing Lug once, I would recommend doing it from the Glenmalure side.

Parking at the end of the Glenmaleur valley at T06644 94204D, this route follows Fraughen Rock Glen, up the North Prison to the summit. Making a bit of a looped walk of this, we descended the spur going along by the South Prison to Clohernagh. Thinking it too steep, we went down the East spur of Cloghernagh which meant a horrible trek through some heather and gorse for about a kilometer. It was only as we got near the splendid Arts Lough we could see looking up a more direct route down at T06008 92381E, rather than going down the spur. After Arts Lough, a short steep descent will bring you back to the road at Fraugheen Rock Glen. Simply follow this back to the car park. A well earned pint at Glenmalure Lodge awaits. Trackback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/13/comment/20163/

Your Score: Very useful << >>Average

Picture from Sarkuns : Lug from the top of Cloghernagh

Picture: Lug from the top of Cloghernagh

Lug from Glenmalure side

by Sarkuns 11 Jun 2013

I climbed Lug from Glenmalure side. I start at bridge which crosses the Avonbeg River at the base of the Zigzags. Please use the gates and the marks to guide you… the zigzags are in very good condition. It was used as hunting trail long time ago but now they are renewed and still in use by the local farmers. As the path is still in use and it goes through sheep grazing grounds remember to leave your dogs at home and try not to scare the sheep’s. At the top of the zigzags there are a boggy trails, all of them will lead you to the fence but only one to the stairs over the fence. Please use the stairs and do not damage the fence.
When you find the stairs it is pretty straight forward. Keep on the path and everything should be ok. The path which is leading on the top of the Cloghernagh is weary easy to see. On the bad weather it is possible that it is muddy but I had the luxury of a good weather and excellent visibility.
From Cloghernagh to Lug the trail is harder to see but in good weather you just take the Lug as your target and go for it… Just be careful on your way back because there are no landmarks to follow so GPS or a map could be vital. I find my bearings using the surrounding mountain peaks.
Be careful there on bad weather. The rocky path is tricky and on some places there are holes on the path which will swallow your leg or ankle…
While I was in the middle of Cloghernegh I almost step on the hare. He jumped away but I was completely surprised. I have seen a lot of them near the Lought Dan but not so close. Trackback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/13/comment/15018/

Your Score: Very useful << >>Average

Picture from paddyobpc : On route to Lugnaquilla looking back towards Glenmalure Valley

Picture: On route to Lugnaquilla looking back towards Glenmalure Valley

from Glenmalure

by paddyobpc 23 Jan 2017

Walk Date: 23 Jul 2015. I had walked Lugnaquilla previously in 2011 from near the Glenmalure Hostel returning into the Glenmalure valley via the zig zags and walking the road back up to the car. This time we were staying nearby for a few nights and my daughter Rachel and son Dillon(dillonkdy) joined me on the climb. We climbed the same route as previously but this time returned the same way due to it getting a bit close to evening. It was a nice evening for the walk with good enough visibility and views. This time we were on the mountains for about 4.5 hrs covering over 14 Km climbing a height of 800m. See Dillon’s (dillonkdy) full story of his County High Point Challenge at https://dillons32chpchallenge.github.io/progress/index.html We also found Kieron Gribbon's High Point Ireland website (www.highpointireland.com) to be a useful source of information for our 32 County High Points challenge. Definitely worth checking out if you're planning to do any of the High Point challenges. Trackback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/13/comment/18803/

Your Score: Very useful << >>Average

Picture from kernowclimber : North Prison Gully

Picture: North Prison Gully

Winter Climb of North Prison's Main Gully

by kernowclimber 7 Apr 2010

The sight of the Great Sugar Loaf wearing a faint snowy hat and the desire to escape the ennui of the office convinced us to take to the hills! Discovering that the Army wasn’t using the artillery range, we resolved to make climbing the main gully on Lugnaquillia’s North Prison our objective for the day.

We parked at the first gateway to the artillery range up the rough track past Fenton’s Pub and began the long pull up Camarahill savouring the crunch and squeak of fresh snow beneath our boots. We descended the steep side of Camarahill towards the Bluffs rising steadily to gain the corrie beneath Lugnaquillia’s North Prison. Once off Camarahill the sun was surprisingly hot but the weather was fickle; kaleidoscopic clouds raced across a Prussian blue sky, occasionally grey and angry enough to generate flurries of snow. Huge granite boulders encrusted with ice lay amid drifts of snow feet thick on the outstretched arm of terminal moraine that seemed to gently coax us upwards and inwards to the corrie. Obstacles such as secret streams obscured beneath a blanket of glittering snow betrayed only by their musical tinkling, and patches of bog unseen until trodden on, slowed our pace considerably.

We located the main gully (T028920F) at the back of the corrie, a white streak shooting some 200 metres upwards towards the summit. It didn’t look all that steep before we began to climb it, but appearances are deceptive. This is described as a Scot Grade I climb in the Wicklow climbing guide, but in places the slope surpasses 45 degrees and the fact that a fresh covering of snow lay atop granular, in places very unstable old snow and compacted ice, made progress difficult. Mcrtchly had to cut steps for almost the entire route and I would estimate the route in this condition was verging on a Scot Grade II endeavour. The crux of the route lay only 10 metres or so from the bottom where sheets of ice had consolidated over boulders making the use of the pick end of an ice axe essential to maintain upwards progress.

The view up the gully was superb. On the right, about half way up is a very distinctive pyramidal pinnacle of rock that was picked out sharply against a deep blue sky, making the surroundings appear and feel positively Alpine. Every so often chunks of ice and snow fell from the surrounding walls with a dull thud followed by a strident hiss as thousands of small chunks sped off down the gully.

By the time we exited the gully, cloud had enveloped the summit and we did not tarry there long as an icy wind beckoned a change in the weather. We descended rapidly in our crampons towards Camarahill surprised to see how quickly the snow had melted. Some 12kms and 8 hours later we were walking towards the warm, inviting glow of the window of Fenton’s Pub, drawn there by the cheerful sound of a jaunty Irish jig filling the quiet night and the knowledge that a glass of Guinness awaited us to celebrate our day out on Wicklow’s highest peak. Trackback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/13/comment/4574/